Cabal – Sign Of Rot Review

The debut album from Cabal, Sign Of Rot, is a noise-driven affair with a lot of power and momentum to it that looks set to go down a storm in a live environment.

There’s no faulting Cabal’s enthusiasm. Each track has as much might as the last, and the wall of noise that the band presents complements the half-snarled, half grunted vocals well. However, it just feels like it’s a little too much. It’s just one slab of noise after another thrown at you, with no real variety or individuality to the songs, as the general construction and body of the ten tracks are pretty similar. It means that it’s a little more difficult to connect with the music as there’s not much differentiation between one song to the next – a little injection of melody every once in a while would go a long way.

That being said, however, Cabal just sounds like a band you have to see live. I can already envision crowds going nuts for the music, with massive pits and plenty of headbanging to the tracks, so Sign Of Rot is perhaps one of those albums you need to hear live in order to fully appreciate it. There’s no shame in that, as quite often you don’t get the full picture without bearing witness to the music live, but it is a slight pity that on its own, the music doesn’t quite leave the impression that Cabal are perhaps capable of leaving.

All in all, Sign Of Rot is a decent enough piece of work, and whilst it may not be the most engaging of listens, there’s no doubting the band’s enthusiasm and passion. Make sure you catch this band live if they’re playing near you!

Soundscape's editor, who is particularly fond of doom, black metal and folk (but will give anything a chance). Likes to travel to see bands abroad when she can. Contact: nathumphries@soundscapemagazine.com or @acidnat on twitter.